Bustah_c

Anyone have any experience with this shotgun?
Looks interesting. Available in 5 shot or 8 shot.
....Although, I may get more use out of the trap model.

deputy125

i don't know about the new production ones.

but the older model 37's were indeed a thing of beauty and function. The actions tend to be purty slick. and i loved the bottom eject feature. Comes in handy being a lefty if ejection bothers you. Also comes in handy in finding your fired hulls for you to pick up.

Some folks complain about the weakness of the single action bar on them compared to the dual action bars found on other makes. Never seen an action bar broken on an ithaca that i can recall.

What i do remember as being the weak point on these shotguns is the rear wood stock. Much like the savage 99 rifle, i have seen numerous ithaca shotguns with hairline fractures where the stock meets the rear of the frame. Of course these were old guns with a lot of miles on them. But these stress cracks never did seem to cause concern amongst the owners.

The 37 is top notch in my book. But, it is an older design with some paticular headaches that you might need to be familar with. Most 37's, the barrel will not come off the receiver so changing barrels or replacing a damaged barrel is a factory job. Also, to clean this weapon, you have to access it from the rear of the receiver so therefore you must remove the rear stock to get to the guts to disassemble. All in all, she is more labor intensive to field strip and clean........strike that.......there really is no field stripping, you really need to do this at the kitchen table and not in the field.

The good news is that with the enclosed design, the guts are well protected.

I love the 37 and still wish i had one. they are indeed a pain to service, but the sleek lines, smooth function, and postive bottom ejection and solid weight just screams durability and class.

Most of the older 37's also had a capability of doing a Slam Fire............as in hold the trigger and just keep a pumping.........i tried it once and decided it was not for me.......especially with buckshot.

Don't know if the new ones have that capability and don't know about new production and if the barrels are removable or not.

here is a set of disassembly instructions.........as you can see, a labor of love.

look under ithaca 37-87 http://www.stevespages.com/page7b.htm

Are you looking at new production or old?

Bustah_c

This is exactly why I joined this site. Deputy, your knowledge and opinions are invaluable. Thank you for taking the time to school a rookie like me. I was looking at an auction site and I believe it to be new production. The price is also fairly attractive.

sheepdog

...I carried one that was brush chrome(don't think it was stainless) in the early 70s...loved the action and quality..fit and finish were awesome...if I hadn't traded it, I'm sure it would still be shuckin'...indeed it is...somewhere...
...for the price Ithica gets, I'd have to have a "permanent" finish...not parkerized or blued...but if the quality is still up there...great gun...only downside is that it's HEAVY loaded...

Snuffy

I have 2 of the older models, I can take both barrels off. Pretty simply too. Just un screw the locking ring back toward the reciever and twist the barrel to th left and off it comes. Its a step thread in the receiver. In the instructions the center picture shows how the barrel comes off.

sheepdog

...now that's good to know...never took the barrel off mine...didn't get a book with it...you guys have some good stuff archived in the grey matter...

deputy125

snuffy, i had heard that some of them had a removable barrel but i have never runned across one.

i just checked the "new" ithaca site..... http://www.ithacagun.com/defense37s.html

looks like they went back to the "fixed" barrel/receiver set-up for the riots. But the bird models have the removable barrel.

ithaca use to tout the fixed arrangment as the most accurate for slug shooting in their deeslayer models....and most of the police riots i've seen were off the deerslayer smooth bore.
i prefer a take-down design myself. I also like the 5 rd over the 8 rd.....shotguns sure get front end heavy with them long mag tubes loaded.

They sure have some purty shotguns on their site. Blue steel, walnut......what's not to like......except the price!

their 28ga is beautiful!!!!!!1

Snuffy

Guess so, not sure about the roits guns. I have a High Standard with a fixed barrel but shortened. I don't care much about a lot of shell in the mag. tube myself they seem to want to point toward your toes.

JOHNNY WACKO

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =191543701

jody johnson

Personally, I've had a little experience with the 37 "riot" gun, and that was positive. But, there are a lotta guys that used them everyday, and rave about them...both military and police. I expect that, if the Ithaca is your final choice, you'll luv it!

The "pump" field gun that I've used for the last several years is a 1946 Ithaca 37-R 12 GA with a Cutts Compensator "up front" and it's very effective and, frankly, is a "class act". It, too, has a removable barrel.

You frequently find these guns at a bargain price because many of th' younger generation are unfamiliar with them. I had mine in a rack at a local sporting clays facility a few years back, but was standin' close by, waitin' for my buddies to get there. Noticed with great amusement the looks and comments from some of the shooters as they looked, and speculated on what the "strange-lookin' antique shotgun" was...and...nobody got it right!

I understand the folks who are runnin' the "new" Ithaca are fully committed to a quality prduct worthy of that grand old name...now, maybe someday, a new sixteen or twenty-eight will cross my path, along with th' "windfall" to make it mine....

Snuffy

They are fine shotguns hands down that is for sure.

Bustah_c

Thanks for all your input, guys.
Now I'm going to begin to save my pennies...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =190916735

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =190353621

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =191935938

(edited to add links)

sheepdog

...the one in the middle is the one I had...same model and features...but fully loaded wasn't any featherweight!!!

Snuffy

All look good to me pal if I have the money I would buy all 3. I love them.